Comments on: How Does Society Value Additional Time for Your Dying Loved One?

By: Healthcare around the world; is a global reform underway: Five Part Post « NadiaTelfort's Blog

Sun, 02 May 2010 23:55:47 +0000

[...] individual is valued more than the life. Darwin of Darwin’s finance asks “In my article on how to value life for a terminal patient, does it make sense to spend six figures to extend someone’s life by a few [...]

By: Weekend reading

Weekend reading — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:50:26 +0000

[...] The price of a dying loved one – Darwin’s Finance [...]

By: Monevator

Monevator — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:48:03 +0000

A good, brave post that deserves more comments!

This kind of thing is so difficult, it’s almost got to be taken at one remove by financial intermediaries and by the reality of what people can pay.

I speak as someone who’s had a close family member in a near vegetative coma and then come out of it, to a point where his wife can look after him and he’s not currently a cost to the state, but he’s not going anyplace either.

It’s very hard to make rational decisions in the moment. With your wife in that position you describe, you might find yourself tearing up the will. Or you might be relieved to have it as a fallback to turn off the machine rather than endure that state (which is as awful as you suggest).

One thing is certain – our political system and media is poorly geared for this kind of discussion.

By: youngandthrifty

youngandthrifty — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:18:53 +0000

wonderful thought provoking article. I think that the issue may be more societal in nature. In our society, a lot of emphasis is put on surviving, fighting, and living longer… sometimes even at the age of 92. I think more people should be having the discussion with their loved ones to see what their wishes are… some people may be 67 but have an ailing heart, kidney, and liver. These discussions should be brought back to the primary care doctors who make decisions like this on a regular basis.

I think age, health, and possibility of recovery should definitely be factored in… though I still believe that everyone has (or should have) the choice on their advanced directives.

I think it’s the stigma of talking about ‘what if’ that prevents a more frank discussion about decisions on end of life care.

By: Yakezie Alexa Challenge Carnival | The Life of an Insurance Salesman

Yakezie Alexa Challenge Carnival | The Life of an Insurance Salesman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:54:16 +0000

[...] How Does Society Value Additional Time for Your Dying Loved Ones from @EverydayFinance [...]

By: Mark Wolfinger

Mark Wolfinger — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:26:46 +0000

The problem with our point of view is that the opponents just simply yell ‘death squads’ and the argument is over.

No politician is going to try to debunk that lie. ‘The government is going to kill grandma’ is more powerful than the truth.